Bill Silva Entertainment > About BSE

Bill Silva Entertainment (BSE) in 2010 is a far cry from its apartment living room roots of 1979, when Bill and an assistant kicked things off promoting concerts. The organization today includes a major concerts promotion and touring division, Bill Silva Presents (BSP), an artist management division, Bill Silva Management (BSM), and a 20-year relationship with the Hollywood Bowl to present concerts.

Bill began his career in the music industry while attending college at the University of California, San Diego, forming Bill Silva Presents in 1979. By the time he left San Diego for Los Angeles in 1999, he had become one of the top impresarios in North America, working with artists in venues from small clubs to stadiums. Early clients included the Who, Simon & Garfunkel, Devo, the Police, Pat Benatar, INXS, Diana Ross and Willie Nelson. Bill has produced over 10,000 events in his career.

San Diego proved a great market from which to expand the concert operations, and BSP became active in presenting shows throughout the Southwest United States in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Texas, Idaho and Los Angeles.

In 1993 the company added an artist management division to direct the careers of young San Diego artists Unwritten Law and blink-182. In 1999 Bill was introduced to Jason Mraz who remains a client of BSM today, and whose global success has become a model for combining artist development patience with a world class talent. Other BSM clients today include James Morrison, Robert Francis, Avi Buffalo, Gavin Creel, Grooveline Horns and writer/director Jai Al-Attas.

BSP’s relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association began in 1991, when he and partner Andrew Hewitt began producing pop and rock concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Since that time they have booked countless world-class performers into the Bowl, including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Andrea Bocelli, Cher, Pavarotti, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Coldplay, Radiohead, Roger Waters, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Dave Matthews Band.

In 1999, Bill sold his concert company to Universal Studios’ concert division which was later purchased by House of Blues Concerts. He left that venture in March 2003 and re-formed Bill Silva Presents as his own entrepreneurial company.

Bill Silva Presents also organizes and promotes nationwide tours including: international pop icon Kylie Minogue’s first tour of North America in 2009; the 2000 “Up in Smoke” tour by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, which was the most successful major tour of rap artists of all time; along with many tours by comedy powerhouse Margaret Cho.

Bill is a founding member and current president of the North American Concert Promoters Association, and was awarded the Pollstar Bill Graham Concert Promoter of the Year Award in 2001, and again recognized as Pollstar’s Independent Promoter of the Year for 2008 and 2009. Bill was the first person to be nominated by Pollstar in dual categories for Artist Manager and Promoter of the year in 2008.

Bill is committed to humanitarian and social causes and supports many, including Doctors Without Borders, Music Cares, Artists for a New South Africa, Human Rights Campaign, Victory Fund and Global AIDS Alliance.

“My joy and passion for live music have fueled my desire for our companies to produce and stage the best concert experiences possible for fans, and to represent and assist the talented artists who we manage,” says Bill. “We have a great team of talented people who work together to fulfill that vision daily. I feel so lucky to be able to make a living doing what I love for over 30 years now.”

Erick manages the finances for all Bill Silva Entertainment ventures. In this capacity he strikes a deft balance in switching back and forth from concert settlement accounting to preparing revenue projections for client tours, or providing pro-formas on new business ventures. During concerts and performances you can often find Erick backstage crunching the numbers with the performer's tour accountant, while during the day you’ll likely find him surrounded by paper in his office or interfacing with the management staff discussing the financial implications of a client’s next great venture.

Prior to joining the Bill Silva companies, Erick worked in media for advertising agency McCann-Erickson and most recently in business management for Provident Financial Management. Erick has obtained a B.A. in Communications from the University of Alabama, an Accounting Certificate from Golden Gate University, and an M. B. A. from the University of Rhode Island.

Eric joined Bill Silva Presents in 2005 after spending six years as one the main concert promoters at Avalon Attractions (a division of Live Nation). Prior to joining Avalon Attractions, he worked at Metropolitan Entertainment in New York City from 1995 to 1999. Eric also worked in New York City at talent agencies International Talent Group and Entourage Talent Group from 1991-1994.

Larry has spent his entire life in the music business. He started by playing keyboards in bar bands in Ohio during high school and college, serving as band manager and booking agent, followed by stints as night club owner and local concert promoter in Cincinnati. Larry then moved to Los Angeles to begin working as a tour manager for such artists as Randy Newman, Ry Cooder and Isaac Hayes. Those efforts led to a job at Warner Bros. Records as College Artist Relations Manager. He was later named Vice President of Artist Relations there, spending the next 22 years touring with an unrivaled roster of talent, winning a couple of PollStar Artist Development Executive awards along the way. Larry left WB and the road to join Bill Silva Management as General Manager in 2008.

As Director of Ticketing for Bill Silva Presents and Andy & Bill Concerts, Reba oversees all aspects of ticketing from show build to settlement, acting as a promoter liaison to the venue for artist representatives which include managers, agents, touring personnel, additional promoters, marketing, record labels, fan clubs, subscription programs, etc. She also manages relationships for the company with Ticketmaster, local box offices, production, operations, security and parking and additionally handles all incoming industry and VIP requests.

For Bill Silva Management, Reba communicates ticket requirements to local promoters and venues for our touring clients from the artist/management perspective.

Reba joined Bill Silva in 1999, having previously worked with artists/tours such as Tom Waits, Luis Miguel and Lollapalooza.

Ryan joined Bill Silva Management in May of 2006. His daily duties include the day to day guidance of Polydor recording artist James Morrison, indie band Good Old War and rising talent Christina Perri.

In addition to the musical acts Ryan overseas, he also works with writer/social activist Sean Tuohey and director Jai Al-Attas.

Ryan graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Sociology in 2008.

Tom began his career a severe metal-head, spending his first four years in New York as the Metal Dude for Roadrunner Records. One important haircut later, he began working at Arista Records as the Director of Alternative, AAA and Rock Promotion. Over the next four years he would work with such artists as Patti Smith, Santana, Dido, Spiritualized, Annie Lennox, Faithless and many more that have escaped his memory. While consistently in awe of the perfect hit machine that Arista had become, he realized that preparing for board room meetings and discussing Ace Of Base singles was not his “thing”.

He left to join Nettwerk in 2000, where he would spend four years promoting Nettwerk’s management and label clients, including Coldplay, Avril Lavigne, Sum 41, Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies. In 2004 he began managing a Long Island band called Brand New, who would spend the next six years developing a wildly original career, largely based on peer-to-peer networking and a dastardly tour schedule. He has also worked with The Format, Jay Brannan, Anathallo and MC Lars.

Gates joined BSE in January of 2010 and is also pretending to be a third person right now, obviously writing his own bio. He knows that you knew that, despite the deft maneuvering of pronouns.

Josh has been Bill’s “right hand” since January of 2007. His responsibilities include handling all of Bill’s scheduling, day to day appointments, heavy call volume, entertaining clients & arranging travel.

Josh came to Bill Silva Management from New York City, where he was acting as a personal assistant to Charles Cowles and associate director of the Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea. With a background in Contemporary art, Josh worked for several years alongside gallerists and with museums curating shows, acting as a private art consultant and participating international art fairs. With a fierce interest in all things creative, artistic, musical and visual; Josh looks forward to getting to know every aspect of the music industry and is thankful for finding a new mentor in Bill Silva.

A longtime supporter of BSE client Jason Mraz, Philly spent her high school and college years overseeing Mraz's online fan community, Right Kind of Phrase (RKOP), before joining the Bill Silva Entertainment team in July 2009. At BSE Philly coordinates fan community outreach for Jason Mraz, Robert Francis, Good Old War, and Avi Buffalo, in addition to assisting Ashley Jex with online marketing, web development, and promotions.

Born and raised in England before moving to California at the awkward age of 13, Philly has an affinity for tea and a fondness for the letter 'u' in words like 'colour' and 'honour.' She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where she studied Writing and Critical Gender Studies. She enjoys taking photographs, writing, meeting old friends in new cities, and a thoughtfully-crafted mix CD. High five her at a live show near you.

Vince Schultz first came to the attention of Bill Silva when he was Tour Manager for Unwritten Law, who were then managed by BSM. After a foray into acting ("I still have my SAG card!"), Vince joined BSM in 2008, initially working with the management team in a variety of assignments. Now he concentrates on the publishing side of all BSM artists, clearing syncs and licenses, and also doing song placement for our No BS Music and BS Music Management clients.

Aly has a passion for live music so taking a seat in the ticketing department is the perfect place for her. Every day and every show offers up new challenges and opportunities to work with new people in assembling live music events for others to enjoy.

In 2009, Aly graduated from Emerson College, located in Boston, Mass., with a degree in Marketing Communications. Along the way she has worked several internships in the music industry including Universal Music Group (distribution/marketing), Live Nation (production/artist relations), & Clear Channel Radio (promotions).

Ashley is BSE's resident New Media guru and responsible for all things related to online marketing, web development, and promotions. She is also the manager for BSE client Avi Buffalo - a young band from Long Beach, CA who recently signed to Sub Pop Records.

Previous to working at Bill Silva Entertainment Ashley oversaw the New Media Department at Suretone Records working directly with artists such as Shwayze and The Cure. She also spent 3 1/2 years at Capitol Records running successful grassroots and viral marketing campaigns for OK Go, LCD Soundsystem, Lily Allen, Morningwood, Yellowcard, and Coldplay.

Ashley grew up in Salt Lake City Utah to a family of 13 kids and spends her free time collecting records, playing bass, Djing around LA, and generally surrounding herself with music.

Forever passionate about live music, there’s not much Shell hasn’t done in the concert world. Starting out with an initial goal to be a sound engineer, her early career segued from the Recording Arts and Music Business program at Golden West College into music publicity. Missing the excitement of the live events, in 1993 she settled into the concert industry, beginning at the William Morris Agency as an Agent Trainee followed by a move to Houston where she worked as a Festival Talent Buyer for PACE Concerts (now part of Live Nation). In 2001 she moved back to her hometown of Los Angeles and worked as Tour Coordinator and Sponsorship Manager in the Touring Division at House of Blues, and from there she took on the challenge of Associate Producer for the online music shows AOL Music Live and AOL Music Sessions.

The newest addition to BSE, Shell came on board in January 2010 working in the Accounting Department, helping Erick Nordan keep the bills paid, the books balanced and thanking her lucky stars that she’s back in the environment that feels like home.

Andy is BSM’s Anglo connection and works out of London on all of the BSM clients, assisting on coordination of client record campaigns and tours. Andy often travels with BSM acts on the road around Europe, acting as a management liaison for the various territories and general chaperone to those who need chaperoning.

Andy previously worked for Bill in Los Angeles in the office where he began out in the management trade working as a day to day on Jason Mraz and a couple of other acts before relocating back to his native England in August 2009. Prior to working for BSM, Andy fulfilled various roles in London scouting for record labels, promoting shows in London and working within the Live Nation machine as part of the venue bookings team and artist liaison for the summer festivals.

In his free time, Andy enjoys long walks on the beach, holding hands while the sun sets and gazing into people’s eyes.